Vatican bones found to be too old in quest to solve mystery of missing teenager Emanuela Orlandi

The Vatican is investigating the disappearance of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi 36 years ago - AFP

Vatican officials say experts have found no recent bones in their examination of an ossuary as part of a search for a teenager who disappeared 36 years ago - but an expert representing the family of the missing girl has called for more tests on some of the bones.

Forensics specialist Giovanni Arcudi, who led the team, said they had found "no bone structure dating back to a period later than the end of the 19th century," according to a statement.

But an expert appointed to represent the Orlandi family's interest has called for more detailed tests on around 70 bones that were not examined because they were judged to be very old.

The Vatican police have taken possession of the remains, pending a court ruling on the question.

Two tombs were opened at the Teutonic Cemetery in relation to the Orlandi caseCredit: VATICAN HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX

The experts removed thousands of bone fragments from the basement of the Pontifical Teutonic College on July 20, searching for Orlandi's remains following a mysterious message sent to her family via their lawyer.

The Vatican has said the bones were likely moved during work on the cemetery and college during the 1970s and 1980s.

There have been long-standing claims of a Vatican cover-up over the disappearance of the teenagerCredit: Andrew Medichini/AP

Emanuela Orlandi was the daughter of a Vatican City employee. She disappeared on June 22, 1983, aged 15, after leaving a music class.

According to rival theories widely circulated in Italian media, the teen was snatched by mobsters to put pressure on the Vatican to recover a loan; or was taken to force the release from prison of Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981.

In 2017, conspiracy specialists were driven into a frenzy by a leaked - but apparently falsified - document, purportedly written by a cardinal and pointing to a Vatican cover-up.

Five years earlier, experts exhuming the tomb of a notorious crime boss at a Vatican-owned church uncovered some 400 boxes of bones.